Poison Apples
by Fishpony
Summary: A redo of Wake Me Up Inside. There are always the tributes who have no chance. The ones everybody counts out. Four underdogs, a stuttering girl, a clumsy boy, a scrawny District 11 tribute, a reclusive boy, and a wisecracking joker. Who will win?
1. Unofficial Chapter

Unfortunately this is not an official update. Since I have changed the names of a lot of characters to make them seem more futuristic I posted this list of the original names and the new and improved ones. Hopefully they are more fitting. Some have stayed the same like Apple (well duh), Chip, and Shine while others have changed like Nick (now Dune), Jane (now Nalini) and Rita (now Amethyst).

In addition I have decided to start the story off earlier. It will start of with all the tributes alive at the Cornucopia. That means more death and violence for all you psychopaths like me! Apple, I hope, will be a deeper and more fleshed out character. I'm really hoping this version will reach its full potential so feel free to point out anything amiss in the plot.

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games.**

**Old Names:  
**

**District 1 Boy**, Posh Heathrow- Sword fighter and tracker

**District 1 Girl**, Shine Yeats- Archer

**District 2 Boy**, Art Underhill – Sadistic javelin thrower

**District 2 Girl**, Eve Truthers- Club wielder

**District 3 Boy**, Chip Wilders- Fast talking clumsy kid

**District 3 Girl**, Glowfi Finn- Runner and planner

**District 4 Boy**, Ernie Christopher- Spear thrower

**District 4 Girl**, Jane Christopher- Spy

**District 5 Boy**, Ivan Paella- Coward

**District 5 Girl**, Marie Lease- Archer

**District 6 Boy**, Jake Gibson- Joke cracking rule breaker

**District 6 Girl**, Gabby Hernandez- Coward

**District 7 Boy**, Liam O' Dell- Thief

**District 7 Girl**, Whitney Jackson- Loner

**District 8 Boy**, Will Thomas- Dagger owner

**District 8 Girl**, Joy Campbell- Idiot

**District 9 Boy**, Miles Rodgers- Coward

**District 9 Girl**, Rita Mitchell- Sling shot wielder

**District 10 Boy**, Tiggs Marshall- Loner

**District 10 Girl**, Leah Heath- Loner

**District 11 Boy**, Husk Dalton- Knife wielder

**District 11 Girl**, Apple May- Scribe

**District 12 Boy**, Nick Timothy- Axe holder

**District 12 Girl**, Fern Ashton- Blubbering baby

**New Names:**

**District 1 Boy**, Posh Heathrow- Sword fighter and tracker

**District 1 Girl**, Shine Yeats- Archer

**District 2 Boy**, Art Underhill – Sadistic javelin thrower

**District 2 Girl**, Ava Truthers- Club wielder

**District 3 Boy**, Chip Wilders- Fast talking clumsy kid

**District 3 Girl**, Glowfi Finn- Runner and planner

**District 4 Boy**, Torin Christopher- Spear thrower

**District 4 Girl**, Nalini Christopher- Spy

**District 5 Boy**, Warren Paella- Coward

**District 5 Girl**, Marie Lease- Archer

**District 6 Boy**, Jake Gibson- Joke cracking rule breaker

**District 6 Girl**, Mavira Hernandez- Coward

**District 7 Boy**, Liam O' Dell- Thief

**District 7 Girl**, Whitney Jackson- Loner

**District 8 Boy**, Shade Thomas- Dagger owner

**District 8 Girl**, Joy Campbell- Idiot

**District 9 Boy**, Miles Rodgers- Coward

**District 9 Girl**, Amethyst Mitchell- Sling shot wielder

**District 10 Boy**, Tiggs Marshall- Loner

**District 10 Girl**, Lila Heath- Loner

**District 11 Boy**, Husk Dalton- Knife wielder

**District 11 Girl**, Apple May- Scribe

**District 12 Boy**, Dune Timor- Axe holder

**District 12 Girl**, Camellia Ashton- Blubbering baby

_Up Next: Chapter One_

_You're supposed to laugh in the face of death. Or at least stand bravely and look defiant as your body gets pierced with a spear and you choke on your own blood or a Career sends an arrow through your brain bring death and only death. You're supposed to be like those famous warriors who tear across the battle field like the Grim Reaper's henchmen._

_But as I stood on my platform waiting for the anthem to be over and the bloodbath to start all I could think of is how badly I needed to pee. _


	2. Slaughter

**Chapter One: Slaughter**

You're supposed to laugh in the face of death. Or at least stand bravely and look defiant as your body gets pierced with a spear and you choke on your own blood or a Career sends an arrow through your brain bringing death and only death. You're supposed to be like those famous warriors who tear across the battle field like the Grim Reaper's henchmen.

But as I stood on my platform waiting for the anthem to be over and the bloodbath to start all I could think of is how badly I needed to pee.

I'm Apple Myrtle May, overkill I know. I am a resident of District 11 and as the agriculture District we're very into plants and such there. I still say I am instead of I _was _because although my chances are slim and I'm the smallest tribute in this arena I'm not prepared to die yet. I'm not going to curl up sobbing on the ground and wait for a Career to put me out of my misery. So I suppose I'm halfway between a rabid dog and a sniveling weasel. Maybe a little closer to the weasel side than the dog side. A deer possibly. I surveyed what I could see of the arena. A Cornucopia overflowing with everything a tribute could ever need and pressing in on it from all sides was dense jungle, a blanket of dark leaves, vines and who knows what else. I'm not meant for that type of plant life. I need neat orchards and tamed woodlands. The only good thing is that I'm sure it will trip up my fellow tributes

I tried to look at some of the other tributes near me to see if there were any I must take the trouble to avoid. Not really. There was that shallow District 10 girl, Joy I think, standing two platforms away. She was grinning like an idiot and flipping her brownish red hair over her shoulder cockily. Did she honestly think she could win? She almost stabbed herself with a spear in training and had scored a 1! At the Reaping she tripped on her way to the podium. She was probably the only one, with the exception of that clumsy District 3 boy, that I could kill. Heck, I could probably choke her with my bare hands and she wouldn't even notice. There was only one option. She was insane already.

The girl next to me, I think her name was Amethyst, looked like she was about to cry. Her pale blue eyes blinked constantly and she tugged on her dirty blond hair in nervous jerks. The boy next to me kept wiping his nose like a little baby. I began to think that compared with some of the others I might have a fighting chance.

Who am I kidding? I'm going to die here at the bloodbath like the loser I am. From my platform I can just catch a glimpse of one of the Careers, the District 1 girl Shine. She was at least two heads taller than Husk, my District partner, and she wore the expression _you're going to die_ that she gave to everyone. Including her other Career members. If I was a frightened deer than this girl was a rabid wolf. Or maybe a lion, I don't know what lions hunt. I hope not deer. Possibly she'll see me as no threat and try to kill the bigger tributes.

Like a bugle of Hell the gong rings. I do the only thing that comes naturally, I jump of my podium and run like the deer I am. It takes me a few seconds to realize that I'm running toward the Cornucopia. Running toward my death.

I stop suddenly in front of a packet of dried fruit. It's not very helpful but now that I'm here I might as well leave with something. I grab it and stuff it up my sleeve before I see what's going on around me. Ava, the District 2 girl picked up a club and sent it smashing down on the girl behind her. I think it was that girl from District 12 Camellia but I couldn't watch for very long. The blood and brain stuff flew everywhere. 175 pounds of pure muscle coming down on a poor malnourished girl's head was not a good combination. A stunning realization hit me. I was in the bloodbath. No I wasn't _in _the bloodbath. I _was_ the bloodbath. Shine and her District partner Posh have already reached their weapons. Posh seemed eager to test out his sword and Shine was already aiming her bow at somebody. And that somebody was me.

I didn't just stand there like a deer caught in the headlights. I panicked. All the adrenaline in my tiny twelve year old body flooded through me. I attacked like an animal in every way. I bolted off in a jagged line so no one could catch. I didn't comprehend that I hadn't been shot or that I was in the woods even when vines and branches hit my face, scratched my arms, and bruised my legs. I could have trodden on any type of fierce jungle beat and I wouldn't even have noticed. I regretted that latter. It would have been really disappointing to have died after surviving the Careers. As it was I left strands of my hair on every branch that I brushed past. I was the only redhead in the arena so I was basically leaving a flashing neon sign leading anyone able to track right to me.

I finally stop, shivering, at the bass of a tree. It's no type of tree I know. Its bark feels waxy and there are knotholes all over it. The leaves feel waxy and smooth as well. But I can't concentrate on the tree. I keep thinking about Camilla's skull caving in. Back in District 12 her family are mourning for her and screaming for Ava's blood. Somewhere back in District 2 Ava's family is cheering her on. The more tributes dead the more likely their daughter will return victorious. I decided something right there, nobody really wins the Hunger Games.

With that deep philosophical thought I easily scale the tree and hide. Nobody can make me participate. Then I realized I had wet my pants.

_Meanwhile at the Cornucopia:_

Shine was not happy. Ava had gotten the first kill not her and she hadn't even been able to shoot that District 11 girl. She didn't know her name or really cared. Giving your victim a name meant making them human and the other tributes weren't real humans. Just prey to be hunted. Shine snickered at the thought. She would make sure to call the girl who got away "Bambi". Yes, every tribute would be an animal, except her fellow Careers of course. The Careers were hunters not sniveling stupid beasts.

She shot two tributes in a row District 6 girl and District 9 boy. The two mice who thought they were cats. She laughed out loud, this was fun!

"Shine's a little psycho isn't she?" Posh laughed. Shine gritted her teeth. Did he really think they would still be in a relationship here in the arena? He must be even stupider than she thought. Maybe he was an animal. She mused on the thought. She would figure out which soon enough. An animal that was challenging to kill probably. Shine knew she would have to bid her time. But Posh would go down soon enough.

A while later the Cornucopia was finally empty of the pathetic tributes. Only the Careers were left, all with a good dousing of blood. The light was growing dim already. Soon it would be time to go hunting in a cloak of darkness. Shine could hardly wait. Maybe she could engineer an accident for Posh? No, too predictable. She would wait till the climax of the Games and then she would kill him. By then there'll be less need for allies and any lingering emotions left for him would have dissipated.

"I got four of them!" Shine bragged. She had to let her allies know that she was a hunter and nobody was safe.

"I only got one," Ava grumbled as she cleaned the blood of her club. Shine raised an eyebrow. Maybe to big trash talking girl wasn't so tough.

"I got four," Posh stated with an endearing smirk. Shine wanted to scream. Why couldn't she ever just be better than someone? How hard would it be for her to come out on top? As the youngest of four siblings it was always her being stepped on and mocked. Not this time. Shine wasn't a little girl anymore. She was a sixteen year old Career who was going to take this Game by storm and bring honor and glory to District 1. She wasn't going to be second banana to a stuck up overbearing _boy_!

Art had been injured by the knife of the boy from District 11, the Ox, and had been almost killed when the boy from District 12, the Falcon, had gotten an axe. He had managed to stab the Falcon in the arm but it wasn't a life threatening wound. Art was obviously in a foul mood.

The District 4 tributes hadn't killed anyone. Nalini was also notably absent.

"What were you doing? Sleeping?" Shine exploded. Only nine tributes dead, disgraceful. Suspicion crept into her brain. Were the brother and sister planning against them?

Torin shrugged, "Didn't you hear the rumors that there was going to be an alliance between those weakling tributes? I was helping Nalini get out into the jungle to spy on them," he explained coolly. He eyed Ava disdainfully, "There's more to the Games than smashing people's skulls."

"So are we just going to argue all day or are we going to kill people?" Art snapped irritably. His wounds had been tended to with various medicines from the Careers' supplies. He would be better in no time.

"First we wait for night to fall. Than we go hunting," Shine growled. She really wanted someone to fall under her arrows. She wanted to feel the victory of once again triumphing over prey. That was the natural order of things after all.

"The District 11 girl's the redhead isn't she?" Posh inquired. He was snooping around the edge of the jungle.

"Yes," Shine replied testily. That hair of hers was a great target. How could she have missed?

"Well you'll be happy to know that she left us a perfect trail. Her hair snagged on some branches," Posh said smugly.

Shine ignored Posh's tone. He wouldn't be so conceited with an arrow through his head, "Let's go bag some deer."

**AN: Do you love Shine or hate her? I tried to give her more personality and I hope I didn't fail miserably. I'm really trying to humanize the Careers, that doesn't mean they're going to be sappy or anything though. One last thing, just because Apple's the main character doesn't mean she'll win...hehehe...**


	3. Pretender

**Chapter Two: Pretender**

Somehow I fell into a fitful sleep. I dreamed, but it was the kind of dream where you're not deep in sleep and you know you're dreaming. It wasn't even a dream really. I dreamed I was back at the interviews just watching…

Shine was winning the crowd over. She wore a safari hunter's dress that had been altered to make her look more than attractive. Oddly, it hadn't gone the whole mile. It seemed that Shine didn't want to show her cleavage to the Capitol. The bloodthirsty hunter is modest maybe? A feminist more likely.

In my dream the voices don't seem connected to the people. Shine's expression seemed blown terribly out of proportion. I could see every emotion playing across her face. First she was eager then she was smug, intense, and furious. It made my head spin.

"I plan on winning," I heard her say even though her mouth didn't move; "I'm going to hunt the others down because only a hunter can win. I'm that hunter," her voice is layered with threats and I'm sure everyone's blood runs cold.

The world seems to lurch suddenly and then that District 3 girl is standing there. I'm pretty sure she's the one who stutters. She's wearing a metallic dress that makes her look as if she's made from chrome. Her frizzy brown hair had been straightened and braided down her back. She positively glows with confidence. I'm sure she didn't look that way at the original interviews.

"I'll do my best to win. In the end that's all we can do. Try our best," I hear her say. In my dream she lacks stutter and her speech seams proud and strong.

My vision spins again and then it's Nalini, District 4 speaking. Her dress seems to capture the ocean in the ruffs of its fabric. The crowd oohs and awws as Nalini grins mysteriously. She acts as if she knows something we don't know. For some reason that bothers me. I want to know what she's thinking. I want to know if she's acting or if she's sincere.

"You have to be smart to win the games. Wisdom and a little slyness are all you need. Add a little intuition and you've got a victor. Me," her voice rings clear and her eyes lower conspiratorially. She has made herself a person you can never forget. And she didn't even have to wear a see through dress.

The District 6 boy is on the stage now. His outfit is made of words. Long strips of paper like fabric that wind around his body. I can't read all the words from here but they seem to form some sort of sentence. The boy wears a look of utmost boredom on his face.

"I don't really care if you don't like me. That goes for everybody. I'm not going to act or suck up just so I can get into an alliance. And if you don't like it I can tell you where to stick your spear," he sasses. I think he might be mocking the Capitol itself. He's saying he doesn't care about sponsors or winning. He's going to twist the games to fit his liking. In other words he's going to die. A nice Gamemaker engineered accident I bet.

I gasp; it's me who's on now. I'm wearing an earth colored dress that gets darker the closer you get around the bottom. I'm barefoot and my hair is as casual as you can get it, a headband decked in feathers and flowers keeps it from getting out of control. I look like some kind of wood nymph. My angle was cheery and innocent. I wonder if I'll sound different in my dream.

"I'm going to try to win. I may be smaller than everyone but that doesn't mean everyone should underestimate me," I pipe. I sound like I'm five, "I'm stronger and tougher than they could ever dream," I finish. I don't sound so pathetic near the end. In fact my voice mingles with conviction. I don't sound like a girl who's trying to convince herself of something. I felt satisfied at that. At the moment I didn't care whether I won or lost. At least I wasn't a total poser. Then I woke up and found that somebody was eating my fruit.

Ah, the hunt. It made Shine shiver whenever she thought about it. Maybe it was because she didn't look like a hunter or a real threat and she loved catching her prey by surprise. A blue eyed curly blond short haired teenage girl, not exactly the kind that would carry a bow right? Shine had wanted to be in the Games since she had first felt a bow. She knew that with that weapon in her hands she could do anything and kill anyone.

Posh lead the way using his sword to cut down vegetation. It was only him, Ava and Shine. Torin and Art were left to guard camp. Art had been furious at first but Shine had shrugged it off. He would get over it. What really mattered now was that they hunted down this girl. They needed a good show of strength to make up for the lack of good kills during the bloodbath. Unfortunately for Bambi that meant that she would have to die in the most painful way possible. It didn't really matter; she was just some competition that needed to be weeded out. Only a District 11 mongrel like her could survive for long in this forsaken jungle meaning that if something ever happened to their food supply then she could outlast them. That wouldn't be right. A deer couldn't best the hunter. Just as District 11 could never beat District 1 because District 1 _must _come out on top.

"I'll take care of her," Shine said, "I'll put on a good show for the audience," she hissed.

"How can you do that with arrows?" Posh protested, "I don't think so."

"I'll do it," Ava grunted. Shine looked her over critically. She was no hunter. More like a big pretender.

"But…" Shine started to protest.

"Oh forget it! It doesn't really matter as long as she dies!" Posh interrupted exasperatedly.

Anger started to bubble deep inside Shine. But she pushed it away. She would kill the little girl and that was that. Who cared what her one time boyfriend had to say?

Ah, the hunt.

"What are you doing?" I asked astounded. A boy, maybe 14 or 15, was perched on a branch above my head casually eating the dried fruit that I had risked my life for! But what I honestly couldn't believe was that a thief would steal something and then hang around. He must be really stupid. Or heavily armed. I'm hoping not the later.

"Having some dinner," he answered, rolling his eyes. Maybe he was just insane.

"My dinner you mean," I growled. I didn't really see any threat from this guy. But then again, I couldn't remember anything about him either. Not even his training score or interview. He could seriously be an insane murderer.

He stuck his tongue out at me, "Finder's keepers loser's weepers!" He chanted. Oh yeah, he was crazy. That's when I realized it was pretty dark. I must have slept through the anthem. I didn't even know the deaths.

"Who died?" I asked crazy kid. He seemed pretty simple minded, I was pretty sure he would gladly tell me. Maybe some other information as well. That would make the lose of the dried fruit worthwhile.

The boy counted off on his fingers, "District 5 boy, District 5 girl, District 6 girl, District 7 girl, District 8 girl, District 9 boy, District 10 boy, District 10 girl, and District 12 girl" then he pondered for a second, "and you."

I had been thinking that it was a shame that none of the Careers had died when I heard that last part.

"I hate to break it to you but I'm still alive," I said as sarcastically as I could manage.

He leaped nimbly into a branch of another tree, taking my fruit with him, he climbed nimbly up into the boughs, "You will be dead soon. The Careers will be heard soon. I saw them. It's a shame though. I was hoping you might get more fruit," he said, his voice fading the higher he climbed. I didn't stick around to listen. I just imagined Shine and her arrows coming after me and I bolted.

I had the sense to shove my hair down the back of my shirt. That's probably what was giving me away. Why didn't I insist on having my hair braided? Actually since it's so bright red I should have just chopped it all off. No, I could never have done that. My older sisters Pea and Clover had always adored my hair. It was so long and red compared to theirs'. Cutting it short would be like throwing away the last remnant of my true self.

As I'm running across the thick jungle vegetation my worst nightmare bursts out from the vegetation. Shine literally explodes from the foliage crowing in triumph.

Fear, desperation, complete and total hopelessness were all emotions I felt in one moment. I wanted to just throw myself on the ground and beg for mercy. The only thing that stopped me was the fact that my whole family was watching. I kept running for Pea. Pea, my older sister who cried whenever the Peacekeepers whipped someone and who lured the spiders out of our house with crumbs. She wouldn't be able to watch me die horribly on television. It would break her.

An arrow whizzed over my shoulder and I veered sharply to the right. I could maneuver much easier than they could. I was smaller and I'd lived with plants my whole life. They were well fed, big, and couldn't handle the mass of vegetation clawing at their feet. Maybe I could find somewhere to hide. Then I squealed to a halt. I was on top of a small cliff. There was a large jungle pool only a few yards bellow me. I would have jumped immediately if I knew for sure what was lurking in the water. Crocodiles or piranhas almost certainly. But my fear of the pounding feet and bloodthirsty grunts behind me made up my mind real fast. I was about to become either the tribute escape artist or the stupidest tribute in the games.

I jumped.

**AN: Soooo. Did you like it? The links to some of the interview outfits are on my profile. Take a look, they're pretty nice. I wish I had them.**


End file.
